Can Amir Khan be “Great” as De La Hoya says?

source: boxingnews24.com

Amir Khan was an Olympics silver medallist at the age of seventeen. Not many boxers can boast that kind of accomplishment he joined the likes of Roy Jones, Oscar De La Hoya, Joel Casamayor , Floyd Mayweather Jr. to win a medal at the Olympics.That was a phenomenal Olympics for the teenager, he was only seventeen.

He became one of the youngest world champions after Prince Naseem Ahmed after beating a top light welter weight Andriy Kotelnik and he won the WBA strap one of the main belts. Prior to the fight, fans were slating khan for taking this route as they believed Kotelnik was a paper champion. Kotelnik proved this myth wrong as he slugged it out with former WBC champion Devon Alexander only for Devon to get the home decision; many fans like me had Kotelnik winning about three rounds.

Amir also became the youngest British boxer to the top the bill in Las Vegas. Who can forget the fight scenes against the thunderous puncher Marcos Maidana. The fight was exhilarating from start to finish, many critics questioned Khan’s chin but that myth was eradicated in round ten, and in what was Khan’s most grueling round of his career. The fight won Ali-Frazier award or fight of year 2010, for a British boxer to win that award for a debut was an achievement.

Khan trains at the Wild card gym in Los Angeles, CA by none other than the legend himself Freddie Roach. The experience Amir must be picking up and to be around Freddie is only a good thing. He shares the gym to one the all time great time fighters in Manny Pacquiao, the sparring sessions with him and the tips he must pass on to Amir must be priceless.

Let’s look at the negatives points:

We all know Khan has been knocked out against Breidis Prescott, that KO was a devastating KO and will remain with Amir until he avenges that defeat. That comes to my next point has Amir’s defensive improved? I’m not sure it has. I’ve seen most of his fights. Amir tends to only cover his jaw now and not the head like Pacquaio does. We all know what happened in the Maidana fight when Khan got clipped twice in round six in the temple area.

Khan’s physique is out of proportion. His upper body is heavier than his legs. Compare that to Pacquaio, whose calves are where he generates all his power and velocity from. He can move through weight classes so easily. Khan’s forearms arm very skinny compared to his arms, speed is not everything if you don’t have power. After watching the Khan-McCloskey fight, I noticed Amir still had chicken legs with no balance at all. He kept lunging in and was off balance when attacking a quality fighter like Bradley will make him pay.

Has Khan still got the desire to train every day. We all know hes got millions in the bank but after fights is he still training in the gyms keeping fit like most Mexican boxers do?

Overall, I think Khan has the ingredients and the platform to become a “great” fighter. Not many British boxer can come in that bracket the only one that can to that I’ve watched is Lennox Lewis. That statement can only come true if Khan applies all his time to boxing and not become a celebrity like most boxers. Only time will tell.

source: boxingnews24.com